Earth-handling machine.



C. E.- L W. G. WERTS.

EARTH HANDLING MACHINE. APPLICATION msn 1AN.31.1918.

Patented Mar. 4,1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

lo [O Vivo 55" @Mmx C. E. L W. G. WERTS. ERTH- HANDLING MACHINE.APPLlcAxLoN FILED JAN.31, 191s.

l ,296,347. Patented Mar. 4,1919.

4 SHEETS-sneer 2.

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C. E. & WI G.. WERTS. EARTH H-ANlmNG MACHINE. APPLICATION FILEID JAN.3L, 1918.

l1 ,2:96, 347. Patentedv Mar. 4, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

5y @www C. E. d W. G. WEBTS.v EARTH HANDLING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILEDIAN.3I.. I9-I8.

Patented Mar. 4,1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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mn N un E UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GLFTQH E. WEBTS AND WALTER Gr. WERTS, OF RUSSELL, IOWA.

EARTH-HANDLING MACHINE.

Speciiioaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 4, 1919.

Application filed January 31, 191B. Serial No. 214,774.

, Handling Machine, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to machines for handling earth for grading roads,filling holes, ditches and the like and cutting oi hills or banks.

The ob'ect of our invention is to provide an earth andling machinehaving a sheave wheel and designed to be operated by means of a cablesuitably anchored and wound on said wheel, which machine is providedwith a prime mover such, for instance, as a gaso- I lene engine foroperat' said sheave wheel. Still a .further object 1s to provide such aone end near machine having an endless conveyer -preferably mountedcomparatively low on the frame of the machine and operatively connectedwith said prime moved in either direction, whereby said endless conveyermay be discharged at either end. A

Still a'further object isto provide such a means having a frame andsupporting wheels, and having such an endless conveyer, and having asuitable frame arranged with thesupporting wheels at one end of themachine s o as to permit the discharge of a load at such end of themachine for filling a ditch or the like.

Still a further object is to provide such a machine having. such anendless conveyer, and having lspaced from one end thereof an .adjustablescraper blade.

Still a further object machine having such a conveyer, and havingadjacent to one end thereof a cutter blade so constructed kand arrangedas to cut earth when the machine is advanced and to elcvate said earthtoward the conveyer, which machine has alsormeans for simultaneouslyraising and. lowering said cutter blade and the end of the conveyeradjacent thereto, and has also means'for raising the cutter bladeindependently of the conveyer.

` A further object is to provide such mechanism as has just beendescribed in connec- 55 the cutter blade,

tion with a shield located in spaced position above the end of theconveyer adjacent to which shield is so mounted as to be operated lultaneously with the to support a invention consists 1n mover for being.

isl to provide such a,

cutter blade and to be raised away from the conveyer when said cutterblade is moved away from the conveyer.

An additional obj ect of our invention is to provide in a machine of theln'nd mentioned a conveyer of special construction adapted heavy load ofdirt, in connection with suitable mechanism for operating said conveyer.

Still a. further object is to provide sucha machine-capable, by slightadjustment, of being propelled over power applied to its supportingwheels.

With these and other objects in view our the construction, ar-

rangement, and v'combination of the various parts of ourdevice, wherebythe ob'ects contemplated are attained, as hereina er more fully setforth, pointed out in our claims, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, n which:

the ground by lts own' Figure 1 shows -a side elevation of an earthembodying our invention.

Fig. 2 shows a top same.

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged, detail view of the mechanism at the front endof the machine.

Figc:A shows an enlarged, detail view of part of the controlling andoperating mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the front portion of the machine takenfrom the opposite side from that shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, detail, sectional view of part of the mechanismfor operating'the grader blade.

Fig. 7 is a rangement of the gears conveyer. I

Fig. 8 is a detail, sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2. A

Fig. 9 shows a detail view partly insection illustrating theconstruction and arrangement of the cable and the springs connectedtherewith. l

4The `frame of our improved machine comprises a pair of parallel,spaced, horizontal, longitudinally extending fra-me members, which wehave indicated in the accompanying drawings by character l0. Extendingforwardly `from the frame me bers l0 are frane members 11 which convergeand are connected to' gether at their forward ends. Extending rearwardlyfrom the frame members 10 are for operating the the reference mounted afriction -disk 38, having al similar frame membersY 12 which conver andare lconnected at ltheir rearward'en The frame-members 10,11 and 12 arepreferably made of 'channel iron. Y

There is supported on the frame an end-` less carrier having the spacedside wall frame' members 15. side wall frame members 15 are' brackets164 which are p1votally supported at 17 on the respective frame members10 for per! mitting the tilting of the endless carrier.

Connecting the wall members 15' is a series of shafts 18H, having attheir ends spindles 19. Mounted lon the shafts 18,

"whichrform rollers, is an endless-conveyer belt 20, shown in `Fi .'8.On the'engi'ne `sha 21, shown in Fig. 2, is a flywheel 22 having'formedthereon a clutch member 23.

Suitably mounted on' the frame and exl tending longitudinally thereof,forwardly of the engine in .alinement shaft 21, is a shaft A24. On therear end of the shaft 24 is slidablybut non-rotatably mounted a clutchmember 25, illustrated in vF 2 and 4. On the shaft 24 isv a collar 26and between the collar 26, and the clutch member v25 is a coil spring 27which yieldthe clutch member 23.

' f Centrally pivorted on the frame 0f the hereinbefore describedmachine is a bell crank lever 28, one end of, which is pivoted to Itheclutch 25', and the other end of which is pivoted to a, link 29. Thelink 29 is pivoted to a lever 30, whereby the clutch 25 may 'be movedout of engagement with the clutch VmemberI 23.

' It will be seen that the Voperation of the lever l30for throwing. theclutch members, out of engagement serves to'compress the spring 27.

` transverse 'shaft 37,

Slidably but non-rotatabl mdunted on the. shaft 24 is a.

friction vw eel 31. Conf nected with the hub of thewheel 31 is a; collar32, to which is pivoteda -link 33.

The link'33 is'vlpfvoted to a lever One end of thelever {f4-is pivotedt0 the frame of the machine.

Pivoted to the lever 3 4 between ends. lf 1s a link 35 Wh1 'ch isin turnlpivoted to a lever 36.

"Suitably mounted 'on the machine is a the `shaft37 is slidably butnon-rotatably grooved hub 39.

.Pivoted to the frame of the machine is a lever 40 Vhaving' a in ,41,which travels in the groove ofthe Euh 39,l

Connected with the sprockets 48 and 50. The chain 49 is -vided with acasing 51.

illustrated in Fig.V 7. It

with the engine lngly presses the .clutch mem'ber 25 toward 38`I indifferent shown in Fig. 4. On

j www.

Pivoted to the lever 40 is a link 42 which in turn pivoted to' a lever43. 0n the outer end of the shaft 37 is a sprocket gear 44 on which isa. sprocket c ain 45. v J

Suitably mounted on the frame of the machine4 rearwardly of the shaft 37is a shaft 46, shown in Fig. 5, on which is a rocket 47 in `line wlththe sprocket 44. ve chain 45 travels on the sprocket47. On thel shaft 46is a-sprocket 48, as shown in Fig. 2. The sprocket 48V is in line with asprocket 50 on the outer end of one of the spindles 19. 'A chain 49travels on the On the spindles 19 are a series of intermeshing gears 52,willbe noted that the alternate ars 52 are fixed to the spindles 19,` wile the intermediate'. gears 52 are rotatably mounted thereon, so thatevery other spindle 19 and roller 18 is power driven. Bythisvconstruction it is possible to easily move a heavy load of dirt onthe endless carrier 20, and therey is no danger of the endless belt orcarrier 20 of sliding on the rollers 18. l

It should be noted that the pivot point 17 of the endless carrier frameis at the center of the shaft 46, so that the chain 45 will be in-properposition in all ofthe tilted positions of the endless carrier.

It will be seen from lthe foregoing de scription that by themanipulation of the clutch member 25 the shaft 24 may be thrown into orout-of gear. By means of the lever 43 the endless carrier may be throwninto and out o f gear by throwing the disk 38 into or out of operativecontact with the wheel 31.V By means of the lever 36, the wheel 31 maybe adjusted for operating the disk directions for thereby operating theupper stretch of the endless belt 20 in either direction.

Extendingupwardly from the opposite vside wall members 15, at theforward end of of circles having their centers at the center of theshaft 46.-

` On the' frame of the machine is mounted a transverse shaft 55 on whichare gears 56 in mesh with the respective racks 54.

Mounted in .suitable uprights 57 on lthe rame, asvshown inv Figs. 5 and8, is a shaft 58 on which is fixed a larve hand-Wheel 59.

'On the lshaft 58 is a small "sprocket wheel 60 whichis alined with alarger sprocket wheel 61 on the shaft 55. A chain 62 travels on thesprockets 60 and 61. By Vrotating thehand'wheel 59 the shaft 55 may berotated for raising and lowering the forward end of the endless carrierthrough' the gears 56, the racks 54 and the frame members 53.

The wheel 59 has a hub 100 on which is mounted a brake band 101 whichmay be suitably operated from a foot pedal 102 for preventing the weightof the load at the lforward endv of the endless carrier from tilting theforward end of the carrier downwardly when such downward tilting is notdesired.

The tilting of the endless carrier frame and the endless conveyer beltcarried thereby has severall functions which will be 4hereinafter morefully referred to.

At the-forward end of the endless conveyer is a double cuttingscoop orblade device, which for convenience we shall call the earth cuttingdevice; which isshown in Figs. 1, 5 and 8, and comprises a pair ofspaced side wall members 63.

Connecting the side wall members 63 at I the lower 'edges thereof is abottom member 64 above which is what may be called an elevating member65 which is curved from its forward end upwardly and rearwardly when theearth cutting device is in its lowermost position. The earth cuttingdevice has a,I cutting edge 66 and supports teeth or breakers 66a thepoints of which extend forwardly beyond the edge 66. I l

Pivot-ally supported on the walls 15 of the ""conveyer frame at theforward endsl thereof and adjacent to the upper ends of the respectivemembers 63 are levers 67 the forward ends of which are secured to t-hemembers 63. The rear ends o f the levers 67 are 7l for thereby impartingvrotation to the pivoted to the lower ends ofthe links 68. Mounted inthe upper ends of the frame members 53 is a transverse shaft 69 on theends of which are fixed arms 70. The upper ends of the links68 arepivoted 'to the arms 70. On the shaft 69 is a worm'gear 71. shown inFig. 8.

Suitably .mounted in a bracket 72 4is a shaft or rod 73 on one end ofwhich is a crank handle 74. a

Suitably mounted near the worm gear 71 is a shaft 75 on which is a worm76 in mesh with a worm gear 71.' Theshaft 75 is connected by meansof auniversal joint 77. with a shaft 73. The shaft 73 is allowed some playinl its bearing in thebracket 7 2.

It will be seen that by manipulating` the crank 74 the shafts 73 and 75will .be rotated for rotating the worm 76 and the worm gear shaft 69.The rotation ofthe shaft 69 moves the arms for raising or lowering thelinks 68 and .the rearends ofthe levers 67 for thereby raising orlowering the earth cut- It will be seen tha-t the earth cutting de viceand the shield 80 may be raised or` 'l e ered independently of theendless carrier franie,'a1id that 'the mechanism for raising or loweringthe digging devi-ce is largely mounted on the frame members so that theearth cutting device is also raised porting wheel 91.

On the side wall members 15 of the endless I carrier fran'ie, near theforward ends thereof, are upwardly extending brackets 7 8 to which arepivoted forwardly extending arms 79. The arms 79 support between them aflat plate or shield 80, the purpose of which will be hereinafterreferred to.

0n the shafts 69 are fixed arms 81 to which are pivoted downwardlyextendiim` links 82. The links 82- are pivoted at their lower ends tothe forward ends of the arms 7 9, and the parts just described are soarranged that when the shaft 69 is rotated for raising the earth cuttingdevice the plate 80 is simultaneously raised, and when the earth cuttingdevice is lowered 'the plate 8O is lowered.

At the forward part of the machine are suitably mounted upright shafts83 which have at their lower ends spindles 84 on which are mounted largewheels 85.

Supported on the rear ends of the framemembers 12 iS a platform 86.Below the rear ends ofthe frame members 12 are turntable members 87 and88. Extending downwardly from the lower turn-table member 88 aresupporting bearing members 89 which carry a shaft 90 on which is mounteda sup- Fort-urningthe lower turn-table member 88 there is provided anupright shaft 92Ahaving at its upper end a hand-wheel 93 and at itslower end a beveled gear 94. The beveled gear 94 meshes with a.

beveled gear 95 on a shaft 96. The shaft 96 carries a worm 97 whichmeshes with teeth 98 on the lower turn-table member 88. It will be seenthatl b v 'the operation of the hand-wheel 93 the wheel 91 maybe turnedas desired for steering the rear end of the machine.

AlVe preferably. arrange our machine so -that ythe wheels at both endsare stecrable and for steering thefront wheels 85 we have provided thefollowing means.

On the shafts 83 preferabljv near the upper ends thereof areparallelforwardl)v extending arms 103 which vare piioted and connected by aconnecting rod 104.

On one of the arms 103 is formedl a toothed sector 105 which is arrangedin mesh with a worm 106 on ashaft 107 mounted in suitable bearingson-the frame of the machine and having at its end a crank handle 108.

B v manipulating the handle 108 the shafts 83 may rocked or rotated forsteering the wheels 85 mounted on the spindles. 84 at the lower ends ofsaid shafts.

For the propulsion of our improved earth handling machine during theordinary operation thereof, we provide a cable 109 which is designed tobe firmly fixed at its ends. Each end of the cable 109 is designed to beyieldingly held by some suitable device such, for instance, as a sleeve110 having at one end a cap 111 on which is a hook 112. On the other endof the sleeve 110 is a removable cap 113. Slidably mounted in the cap113 and having` the greater portion of its length received within thesleeve 110, is a rod 115. On one end of the rod 115 is a hook 114secured to the cable 109. Onk the other end of the rod 115 Within theabl mounted a nut 116.

etween the nut 116 and the cap 113 is a coil spring 117. i

Suitably mounted at the forward part of transverse shaft 118 on which isa sheave wheel 119. On the outer endV of the shaft 118 is a drum 120which is used for carrying spare cable or for carrying the cable 109when it is not in use. On the shaft 118 on opposite sides of the wheel119 are gears 121.

Suitably mounted on the frame of the machine rearwardly of the shaft 118is a transverse shaft 122. On the shaft 122 is a sleeve 123. On theouter end of the sleeve 123 are mounted wide gears 124 which mesh withthe respective gears 121, as illustrated more particularly in Fig. 3.The sleeve 123 also ha's spaced beveled gears 125 mounted between thegears 124, as shown in Fig. .3. The shaft 24, hereinbefore referred to,is connected by means of a. selective Speed trans mission gear 126 ofany ordinary construction, which does not in itself form a part of ourinvention, with a shaft 127 on which is a beveled gear 128.

For sliding the sleeve 1.23 and thereby selectively moving therespective beveled gears 125 into mesh with the beveled gear 128, thefollowin means has been provided'.

Pivote between its ends on a bracket 129 is a bell crank lever 130, oneend of which is operatively connected with the sleeve 123 at 131, forsliding said sleeve longitudinally on the shaft 122 while permittingfree rotation of said sleeve.

Pivoted to the other end of the bell crank lever is a rearwardlyextending link 132, shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The link 132 is pivotedat its rear end to a controlling lever 133 mounted on the frame of themachine.

lt. will be seen that by manipulation of the lever 133 the sleeve 123can be moved for bringing either of the gears 125 into mesh with thegear 128 'for thereby imparting rotation to the shaft 122 in eitherdirection.

The gears 124 are the machine is a fixed on the sleeve 123 Vated bymeans sleeve 110 is a-djustand slide with it, but they have Wider facesthan the gears 121 and hence are always in mesh with the gears 121, sothat the gears 121, and shaft 118, and sheave Wheel 119 ma be rotated ineither direction.

.he cable 109 is threaded through suitable guides on the machine and iswound on the drum 119 when the machineis to be operof the cable.

On the hubs of the wheels 85 are sprocket gears 134, which arerespectively in alinement with' sprocket gears 135 on the ends of theshaft 122. On each pair of gears 134 and 135 is a sprocket chain 136. Onthe shaft 122 is an ordinary band brake 137 connected by means of a link138 with a controlling lever 139.

Connected with the transmission gearing 126 is a centrally pivoted lever140 which is pivoted t0 a link or rod 141 extending rearwardly in themachine and connected with a controlling lever 142.

Mounted atI the rear part of the machine is a scraper blade 143, shownin Figs. 1 and 2. The scraper blade is supported upon a frame having asemi-circular member 144 provided with teeth on its upper surface.Suitably mounted above the plate or platform 86 is a hand-wheel 145connected with a rod or shaft 146. The rod or shaft 146 is connected bya universal joint 147 with a shaft 148 on which is a beveled gear 149 inmesh with the teeth on the upper surface of the frame member 144.

Suitably mounted on frame members are large hand-wheels 150 onshafts151. On the shafts 151 are worms 152 which mesh with worm gears153 rotatably mounted on shafts 154. On each shaft 154 is a frictiondisk clutch member 154. Each worm gear 153 has a smooth face adapted toengage the face of the disk 154, and the said Worm gears 153 areyieldingly heldin engagement with the disk 154'* by means of coilsprings 154b to permit some slippage. By means of nuts 154c the tensionof said springs may be varied. This friction device for attaching theworm 153 to the shaft 154 is a safety device to prevent breaking thelifting arms or shafts 154 when the scraper blade 145 strikes lar ebowlders or other obstructions.

Each o the shafts 154 has a crank 155 operatively connected with a link156. The links 156 are connected with the opposite sides of the framewhich supports thc scraper.

Suitably supported near the engine 14 is a fuel tank 157.

In the practical operation of our improved earth handling machine whenit is desired to use the machine for grading purposes, the cable isstretched and anchored at its ends after having been threaded throughthe machine and wound over the sheave wheel 119.

The machine' can 4then be drawn fiorwardly by starting the engine andthrowing the clutch members 25 and 23 into'gear by means fof the lever30. :The lever 133 is then operated for throwing the gear 128.

advances the earth is not only cut `by the earth cutting tool, but theplate or blade 64 is' of such shape and so curved as to elevate the,earth and dischargeit on the forward` portion of the endless carrier.

The plate 80 assists in determining when the dirt is loaded to theproper height on the endless carrier. When the dirt is pulled up to theplate 80 the' endless carrier is thrown into gear by means of the lever-36 yand the lever 43 for moving the upper stretch of the endlesscarrier rearwardly a short distance.

When the endless carrier has been loaded the machine can be moved toanother'place, and the dirt, if desired, may be discharged at the rearend of the endless carrier and as the machine advances the scraper blade143 will smooth and level the dirtdischarged from the endless carrier,or shove the earth discharged from the `conveyer olf over the.

ed of a fill or gradewhen it is desired to wizn the same or to lill aditch at the side of a roadway. It will/lie noted that the endlesscarrier thus forms a carrier and alsoa load holding means. l

On account of the manner in which the gears'52- are connected with eachother and with the source of power, every other roller under-the endlessbelt 20 is operated, so that there is no danger of any slippage of theendless belt 20 on the rollers.

'If it is desired to discharge the dirt at the f orward end ofthe-endless conveyer this can be done by reversing the direction ofmovement of the endless conveyer by shifting the friction wheel 31 onthe shaft 24 for j causing the upper stretch of the endless conveyer totravel forwardly in the machine.

We consider this, in connection with the other features of the'machinehereinbefore described, .to be'one of the important .features of ourinvention. For instance, 1f it.

' is desired to lill a ditch or de ression, the

shown in Figs. 5 and 8with the rigid bottom 160, (shown in Fig. 8) thatit may rest on the ground at the edge of the ditch without interferingwith the movement of. the endless carrier. The dirt can thenebedischarged from the endless` conveyer immediately into the ditch. Inthis connectionA attention is called to the advantage of the`construction of the machine whereby the.

device vis mounted on a frame eartll cuttin which is ralsed and loweredvwith the forward part' of the endless conveyer, and is also adjustablewith relation to such frame and with relation to the forward en'd vofthe endless conveyer, so that when dirt is being.

discharged at the forward end of the endless conveyer, the earth cuttingdevice. may be raised to be out of the way of the discharg#` ing load.It may be noted here also that on account of the constructionhereinbefore mentioned, the guide plate 80 is raised out of the way whenthe earth cutting device` is moved away from the forward end'of theendless conveyer.

After the `load has been discharged, the' sheaye wheel can be throwninto gear for pulhng the machine away from the ditch. This can be donebecause the pull is on the movement of the llarge front wheels. It willbe seen that no such operation could be performedwith anordinarytractor. .'We consider this combinatie of .the digger locatedsubstantially bel w the shaft on which the supporting wheels aremounted, with a sheave wheel and cable, .an important one. Where it isdesired to make a cut l cable and the machine is not operated by thealong the ground for a considerablel dise tance toa'uniform depth, it isnecessary to locate the cutti member 'substantiallybee low one of the aes. vIf the cuttin member is located rearwardly or forwar ly fromi theaxle,- then the operationof the cutting. member serves to increase'anyunevenness in the ground, and does not result in cutting to an evendepth. For instance, if the cutter is located ahead of the' axle and thewheels on the axle drop 4into a low lace, it will be seen that thecutter would t en cut greater than the required Ldepth', while if theWheels went overan elevation the/cutter would not cut to the requireddepth; so it is desirable to locate the cutter substantially below theaxle. r 4

Where the cutter is located below the axle, it will be seen that with anordinaryl tractor it would be impossible to move the machine to the edgeof the ditch or hole for discharging at that end of the' conveyer wherethe cutter is located, vbut withthe sheave wheel andi cableconstruction| the machine can be moved for discharging into a ditch inthe manner hereinbefore del scribed.

It will be seen that the-scraper blade 143 chine for cutting o It may benoted that both the front and rear wheels are steerable so that themachine can be operated for making any turn desired.

Itmay be noted also that on account of the last` mentioned feature ofconstruction, the rear end of the machine may be caused to travel in-'aath at one side of the center of the ath o travel Aofthe front art ofthe mac ine so as to make any desire width v of cut into a bank orridge, or shove the earth discharged from the conveyer over the edge ofa lill for the purpose of wideningor filling a ditch at'the road side-.i

he scra er blade 143 can be adjusted byA raising an lowerin either endor by raising and lowering t e entire scra er blade and by swinging thescraper bla e so that its cnttinl edge is arranged at different angleswit relation to the path of travel of the machine `for surfacing a roador the like in different ways.

It will be noted, that vwhen it is desired to move the machine'from onejob to another, the cable may be .taken oi the sheave wheel and wound onthe drum 118 and by putting chains 136 on the sprockets 134: and 135 themachine may be carried over the ground under its own power, as anordinary tractor. These chains are removed and not used when the cableis used. It will be understood that when the chains 136 are in use, thefront'wheels are not steered'and the machine is steered by the operationof the rear su orting wheel.

e machlne 1s prlmarily, however, in-

tended to be operated with the cable when` used for heavy work.

It will be seen that it can be used for cutting down ridges or banks,for grading, for loading and carryin dirt, and can be used for cuttingoff a rid dirt and leveling it. It can'be used for simultaneousllcutting down a bank and picking up an loading the dirt that wasloosened' by a' former cut.-

The machine ordinarily requires onlyl three men for its operation.

Sonie changes maybe made in'f the construction and arran ment of the'various arts of themachme without. departing m the essential spirit andpurpose of our invention, and it is our intention to cover by our claimsany modified formsof structure or use of mechanical equivalents which geand depositing the sco e claim as our invention.

1. In a device ofthe class described, a frame mounted on wheels,anendless conveyer frame tiltably supported onsaid frame, an endlessconveyer on said second frame, a load supply device adjacent to one endof said conveyer, means for mounting 'said load supply device on saidconveyer frame .for permitting adjustment of the load supply device withrelation to the endless conveyer, .a plate mounted above one end of saidconveyer adjacent to saidload supply means and operatively connectedwith said load supply means.

2. In an earth handling machine, a frame mounted on wheels, an endlessconveyer adapted 'to move a load and to be thrown out of gear forretaining said load, means for operatingthe endless conveyer, includingmechanism for throwing the conveyer into or out of gear, a load sup lyin-device arranged adjacent to one end olf) 'sai conveyer, and anadjustable scraper arranged adjacent to the other end of said conveyeradapted to act on material discharged from said other end of saidconveyer.

` 3. In an earth handling machine, a frame mounted on wheels, a conveyerframe tiltably mounted on said first frame, an earth cutting andelevating device mounted to be moved with said conveyer frame, andadapted to be adjusted with relation thereto,

means for raising and lowering the ends of said conveyer ame, togetherwith said lmay be reasonably included within their endless earth cuttinand elevating means for vary- .fing the dept of cut of the latter, aconveyer on said conveyer frame, means for operatin said conveyer andthrowing it into or out o gear, whereby the conveyer may be used to movea load or to retain the load while the machine is being moved from onelocation to another, and ascraper adjacent to the end of said conveyeropposite said earth cutting means ada ted'toact on material dischargedfrom the asfgmentioned end of s aid con-y y'eyer. j '4. In an earthhandling machine, the combination of airame mounted on front and rearsteerable wheels, with a load carrier on said frame, an earth cuttingand elevating device adjacent to saidlload carrier and near the front'end-of the machine, an earth cutting..device near the rear end -of themachine arranged to project laterall beyond the machine in certainsitions ,o chine and said first eart cutting device.

5. In an earth handling machine, the combination of a frame mounted onwheels, an endless carrier on said frame adapted to retain a load and tobe operated at will for discharging said load at either end, an earththe mal anew cutting and elevating means adjacent to the forward end ofsaid endless carrier, a

scraper mounted on said frame rearwardly of said carrier ada ted tosmooth and level dirt or the like dlscharged from the rear end of saidcarrier.

6. In a machine of the class described, a

- load supplying device arranged adjacent to one end of said conveyer,and an adjustable cuttin blade arranged adjacent to the other end o saidconveyer adapted to cut earth at the side of the machine for cuttingaway banks or hill-sides. Y

8. In an earth handling machine, a frame mounted on wheels, aconveyer'thereon, a

Aload supplying means adjacent to one end of said conveyer, a scraperblade adjacent to the other end of' said conveyer, means for adjustablysupporting and for raising and lowering the ends of said scraper blade,said means including slippage devices.

9. In a device of the class described, a framemounted on wheels, a loadcarrying device thereon adapted to discharge its load at one end, ascraper mounted near one end of -said load carrying means, means forraising and lowering and for supporting the ends of said scraper blade,said means including friction devices for permitting the slippage whenthe blade strikes an obstruction for permitting the blade to raise andclear such obstruction.

10. In a device of the class described, the 40 combination of a framehaving supporting wheels near one end, and a supporting wheel near theother end, an endless conveyer adapted to discharge near said one end, adigging device arranged substantially in line between said firstdescribed wheels for digging dirt or the like for loadin said conveyer,with a sheave wheel, a ca le on said sheave wheel, and means for causingthe entire machine to travel along said cable.

11. In a machine of the class described, a frame, supporting Wheels nearthe opposite ends of the frame, an endless conveyer, a digger fordigging dirt and loading said conveyer, arranged substantially betweenthe 55 wheels at one end of the frame, a cable, and means on saidmachine for engaging the cable and causing the machine to travel alongthe cable. l

Des Moines, Iowa, January 21, 1918.

CLIFTON E. WERTS. WALTERl G. wERTs.

